Jesus boldly goes to Jerusalem and is hailed as the Messiah. He turns away the corrupt money changers before healing people who came to the Temple.
We are hard on the religious leaders, but we can also get caught up in our career and building our own kingdom that Jesus’ new kingdom threatens us.
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Matthew 21 Video:
Matthew 21 Notes:
Are we threatened by Jesus’ power?
In Matthew 21, it’s Palm Sunday. Jesus has made his way towards Jerusalem in spite of the danger. Before he had told people not to tell others about who He was. Now he enters the city while people are praising Him! And he’s on a donkey as was prophesied the messiah would do.
If that wasn’t bold enough, he then goes to the temple courts where he clears out the corrupt money changers who were making it difficult for the poor, the foreigners, and the Gentiles! Jesus confronts evil actions head on and drives them out, but in His anger he did not sin. It was a righteous anger.
And if that wasn’t bold enough, Jesus healed some of the people who came to the temple to worship God.
And then the children were singing little songs about the Son of David. That’s the title given to the Messiah who would reign forever.
He spends the night in Bethany and returns the next day.
Matthew then shares some of the parables Jesus shared while at the Temple. This time the religious leaders understood the message of the parables. Jesus was confronting them.
His actions and words demonstrated he was claiming to be the messiah so the religious leaders began plotting how to arrest him.
Verse 15 says that the religious leaders saw the wonderful things he did and heard the happy children and became indignant.
When you are in a bad mood, isn’t it annoying when someone around you is happy and having a good time?
Are you noticing the wonderful things around you?
The religious leaders were so consumed with their career, they were missing God at work! They didn’t want to lose the authority and the power they had worked so hard to get that they were missing the power of God right in front of them.
So the sinners who turned to God would become part of the kingdom of heaven rather than the religious leaders, the ones who were supposed to be guiding the people to God.
